Ariella Arida on bashing of Maxine's English: Sana makapagsalita tayo sa sariling wika natin

Weeks before pageant night, Maxine Medina is facing additional pressure not from fellow candidates, but from some Filipino fans voicing their disappointment in her English and communication skills.

Friend and fellow beauty queen Ariella Arida said that she has advised Medina to shrug off the negative comments.

"Feeling ko part na talaga (ang bashing) 'pag lalaban ka. During my time, bago ako mag-fly to Moscow, I had this one interview na talagang doon din ako na-bash," Arida shared during an interview with GMA News' News-To-Go Friday.

She added, "Sobrang excited ko na, (pero) 'yon 'yong nagpababa ng loob ko."

Arida competed in the 62nd Miss Universe pageant and finished as third runner-up.

Beyond the "shake it off" cheer for Medina, Arida admitted that she hopes that in the future, representatives from the Philippines would be allowed to use their native tongue during the question and answer portion.

There are over 170 languages in the Philippines and Arida believes that the Miss Universe stage is a good platform for the world to hear at least one of these languages.

Also read: Beyond the crown: Could beauty pageants be feminist?

"Sana there will be a time na makapagsalita tayo sa sariling wika natin. Tapos lahat ng tao sa buong mundo—buong universe—naririnig nila 'yong native language," Arida said.

She confessed that she thought she would be allowed to speak in Tagalog during her time, considering all the negative comments she was getting. But, she revealed, it was not her choice to make.

"At the end of the day, may mga kailangan ka talagang sundin na rules. Kasi hindi naman po sa aming decision eh, even if we really want to do it. Mayroon pa ring nagdedecide for us," the beauty queen explained.

Still, Arida said that the best thing to do right now is to support Medina and understand that beauty queens do more than simply look pretty

"Hindi nila narerealize na behind all these things, sobrang hirap nang pinagdadaanan ng isang girl to represent the country," she said. 

On Thursday, Medina's mentor Mark Abalos spoke up in her defense and told bashers that even people who speak English as a first language make mistakes. —Aya Tantiangco/JST, GMA News